Ryman Div One North
Thurrock 2 v 1 Wroxham
By Liam Carson and courtesy of Thurrock FC.
AN incredible last minute winner from David Knight gives the Fleet all the points.
Joseph Marsden converted a spot-kick on 15 minutes to give the Yachts men the lead however this was cancelled out on the hour mark by Lewwis Spence. The Wroxham defenders battled with a lot of determination but not as much as Thurrock it appeared as David Knight scored a last minute winner.
The Fleet started brightly in their first Saturday game at Ship Lane for two months. David Knight and Ross Wall were linking up well together on the front line, nearly producing the opener with just six minutes gone.
Wall flicked on a long ball into the path of Knight but the striker saw his curling shot saved by Wroxham’s 6 ft 8 inch keeper, Robert Juhasz, after beating two defenders.
Unfortunately Thurrock’s good start was easily undone by the Yachts men with a quarter-of-an-hour gone when right winger, Aaron Sanders, skipped into the box and was fouled leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty.
Joseph Marsden, the Wroxham right-back, stepped up to covert it and in doing so, scored his 20th goal of the season.
Whether the lead was deserved is very debatable but it certainly increased the opposition’s momentum.
It was Marsden that continued to be the real threat with his bombing runs from defence to defence.
They should have added a second with 34 minutes gone as a long range effort skimmed Andy Walker’s post.
On the stroke of half-time Thurrock almost equalised through the most stunning of shots. There were neat flick ons between the front pairing that released Lewis Spence into space giving him time to hit a shot on the volley, but the effort curled narrowly away from the goal.
The Fleet continued their pressing into the early stages of the second-half. David Knight could have scored but his effort rebounded off the post and then Ross Wall found space but could only head past the post from four yards.
The amount of pressure on the Wroxham goal was intense, unrelenting and it was creating feeling around Ship Lane that Thurrock would soon be level. That feeling became a reality.
Mark Stimson’s side won a corner and from that Lewwis Spence lost his marker and equalised on 60 minutes.
The Fleet were not content with the equaliser either and started to press intently for an advantage though the Wroxham defence, who had kept Thurrock at bay previously for an entire hour, were showing that same resilience as the game entered its final stages.
Juhasz was kept very busy in the goal while his defenders continued to put their bodies on the line for their team.
The match was becoming very feisty with tackles flying in from both sides showing the importance of the game for both sides.
The chance arrived for Thurrock to win the match with three minutes to go. The impressive Juhasz made the decision to venture from his line allowing Mark Stimson’s men to run round him. Charlie Stimson shot but it was cleared off the line by very determined defending.
Though it was to be Thurrock’s day and the Fleet grabbed an incredible last minute winner from David Knight.
